Game apparatus



1940. I 1. H. WILSEY Re. 21,538

GAME APPARATUS Original Filed Sept... 14, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l I1 6a m4 O 86 I 53 58 INVI' NTOR. 88 70 4 1111191217. Wkly/ 12 6 44 W I H15ATTORNEY.

Aug. 20, 1940. '1, w s Y Re. 21,538

GAME APPARATUS Original Filed Sept. 14. 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HI 42 4 I3 E IN INVENTOR. 11-0917 15'. Wise zy 11: 103 I 110 BY 2% H15 ATTORNEY.

Reissued Aug. 20, 1940 PATENT OFFICE GAME APPARATUS Irven H. Wilsey,Chicago, Ill., assignor of fortyfive per cent to John H. Sharp and tenper cent to E. W. Hibbard, both of Chicago, Ill.

Original No. 2,167,703, dated August 1, 1939, Serial No. 100,657,September 14, 1936. Application for reissue May 6, 1940, Serial No.333,690

14 Claims.

This invention relates to amusement apparatus of the type having aninclined ball playing board with scoring openings or areas therein, andmeans for projecting balls out upon the board toward the scoring areas.

'A particular object of the invention is the provision. of a novelprojecting mechanism adapted to impart two degrees of motion to theprojected ball or element.

Another object is to provide means for imparting to a ball an initialspinning motion together with means operable at will to release the ballfrom operative relation with the spinning means for movement along thesurface of a game board.

Other novel structural and functional objects residing in the inventionwill appear in view of the following detailed description and taken withthe annexed drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top-plan view of a complete game apparatus incorporating mynovel protlecting mechanism; Y

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional detail of the projecting mechanism takenin the direction of lines 2-2 of Fig. 1; r

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional detail of the projecting mechanism Fig..4 is a side view of the projecting mechanism;

Fig. 5 is avertical front detail of the control switch, and taken'in thedirection of lines 5-5 of Fi 4;

Fig. 6 is a vertical front detail partially in section, taken alonglines 6-6 of Fig. 3i while Fig. 7 is a form of circuit diagram for theapparatus. I

In the operation of apparatus of the type generally known as ball andpin games as heretofore devised, a ball is adapted to be positionedbefore a manually operable plunger which is released for impact with theball to impart a substantially linear velocity thereto and send thelatter out over the playing board to encounter various hazards andscoring elements thereon.

The present inventionprovides a manually operable projecting means whichnot only imparts a linear velocity tothe ball, but also gives the ball apositive gyrating or spinning movement which results in novel motioneffects of the ball, as it moves out upon the'playing board, inparticulars which will be hereinafter pointed out.

A game apparatus including the provisions of my invention is generallyshown in Fig. 1, and has a horizontal playing board I2 set in a suitableframe member I4, the vertical walls of which project upwardly a suitabledistance above the surface of the board l2, and having a desired numberof scoring openings [6 communicating with the underside of the panel orboard through which skillfully played balls may pass in scoringmovement.

In'addition, the playing surface of the board [2 is provided withbarriers or hazards l8 variously positioned thereon, and other barriersin the form of U-shaped rails 20 positioned in accordance with a desiredgame pattern.

At one side of the board [2 are a pair of paral: lel guide rails 22having a lower extremity 24 positioned before the novel ball projectingmechanism generally indicated at 26, and an upper or exit extremity 28before which is disposed at an angle a barrier I8 adapted to direct aball impinging thereagainst out upon the board l2 in the generaldirection of barriers 20 and I0, and on the opposite side of the boardto runway rails 22 is a longitudinal guide rail 30.

The upper and lower extremities of the board, whichis preferably tilted(downwardly from the left-hand to the right-hand extremities of theboard in Fig. l), are provided with respectively curved guide rails 32and a pair of rails 34 and 35 between which is an opening 36 positionedbefore a ball exit 38 at the lowermost extremity of the board. In theembodiment shown a pair of barrier rails 40, one short and one long, maybe extended in parallel angularly across the board relative to theopening 36.

A suitable ball elevating mechanism 42 is positioned at the lowermostend of the board l2 adjacent the exit 38 and is adapted, by operation ofthe handle 43 toelevate balls from the undermost region of the playingboard l2 onto delivery rails 44 disposed to deliver a ball into positionbefore the projecting mechanism. 26.

The novel projecting device 26 as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 comprises atubular support 48 having a mounting collar 50 at its outer extremity,adapted to bear against a wall of the cabinet I4 to mount the mechanismthereon, and a plunger rod 5| having a handle 52 at its outermost endslidable within the tube 48 and, including a compressible spring 54, oneextremity of which bears against the outer end wall 55 of the tube 48and the other end of which bears against a washer 56-restrained by pin51 in the rod 5|.

Suitably threaded upon the innermost extremity of the plunger rod 5| asat 58, isa cylindrical plunger head 60 adapted to slide within thetubular member 48 and having threaded into its outermost extremity animpact tip or head 62. The plunger head 60 is preferably formed of anon-conductive and non-magnetic substance such as wood or Bakelite,while the impact tip is formed of metal.

As particularly shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 5, the pin 51 on plunger rod 5|extends normally to the rod out through a longitudinal slot 53 in theside of tube 48 with its outermost extremity 51' adapted to engage aswitch arm 10 pivoted upon'a bracket 12 with its lowermost extremity '14extended through an opening in the board I2 and provided with aninsulated cap member 16.

A switch 11 of the spring leaf type is mounted by a bracket 18 againstthe front wall of the cabinet I4 and has a master spring 80 with an endportion 82 positioned in the path of the insulated head or cap 16 of theswitch arm 10 for switch operating movement thereby when the arm' 10 ismoved by the pin 51 responsive to a manipulation of the plunger rod 5|.

Mounted upon the underside of the board I2 adjacent the plungermechanism 26 is a motor 84 having its shaft 86 extended upwardly throughthe board for engagement with a ball rotating wheel 88 having a suitablefrictional tire or rim 89 (Figs. 3, 4, and 6). Anidler wheelil'll'rotatable about a collared pivot 92 is extended'by a bracket 93upwardly from the surface I2 on the opposite side of the magneticplunger tube 64 to the wheel 88, at a distance therefrom suitable toreceive a metal ball 46 so that its innermost (right-hand) extremitywill be substantially in confrontation with the beveled extremity 63 ofthe magnetic tube 64 for attraction by the latter firmly against theperipheries of the two wheels when the solenoid 66 is energized. I Asshown in Fig. '7, motor 84 is in circuit with a source of power throughconductors I00, I02, a pair of contact springs I03 of switch 11, and byconductor I04 returning to the source of power. The solenoid 66 isdesirably energized through a transformer I06, the primary of which iscon nected to the same source of power as motor circuit 84, and thesecondary of which is connected by conductor I08 to one side of'thesolenoid through the other side of the solenoid winding by conductor II0 to another pair of contact springs m of switch 11, returning to theSG OndaIy r the transformer by conductor "2.

The switch arm 10 is normally urged, in fa clockwise direction (Fig. 4)by a spring 69 chored suitably to wall I2 so as to engage the masterspring 82 and flex the several springs of the switch 11 into closedcircuit relation. However, extremity 51 of the pin 51 on normallypositioned plunger rod 5| engages the upper extremity of the switch arm18 and pivots the latter (counter-clockwise) into the dotted lineposition of Fig. 4, leaving the switch 11 in open circuit condition, butwhen the plunger 5| is retracted preparatory to projecting a ball, theswitch 11 will be appropriately operated to energize the motor 84 andsolenoid winding 66 in a manner to be particularly described hereafter.

The operation of the device, explained with reference conveniently tothe several figures beginning with Fig. 1, is such that the operator mayrelease the machine for use by operation of any desired kind of coincontrol slide or mechanism (not shown) and by manipulating the handle 43of the ball elevating mechanism 42 (a type of which is shown in UnitedStates Patent No. 2,012,519 to one Radtke) and cause a ball 46 todescend over rails 44 into position before the tip 62 of the projecting,mechanism 26. g

The ball 46 is preferably a solid sphere of magnetic material such asiron, and in its position before the tip 62 it is spaced away from therims of the driving wheel 86 and the idler wheel 90. The operator bygrasping handle 52 may retract the plunger 5| against the tension ofspring 54 in tube 48, thereby drawing the plunger head and the plungertip 62 within the tube so that the tip 62 will expose the beveled endportion of the magnetic tube 64 for attraction of the ball 46, thelatter having meanwhile moved backwardly against the rims of wheels 88and 90 (Fig. 3), upon withdrawal of tip 62.

As the plunger rod 5| is retracted, the extremity 51' of pin 51 willlikewise be retracted and the lever 10 under urgence of its spring 69will cause the lower end of the lever with the insulated head 16 tomovefrom right to left (Fig.

4) and engage the master spring 82 of switch 11, thereby closing theseveral contact springs of the latter and closing circuits for both themotor 84 and the solenoid winding 66 (Fig. 7).

The energizaltion of solenoid 66 magnetizes the tube 64, which in turnattracts the metal ball 46 toward the beveled extremity 63 and thusdraws the ball against the two wheels 86 and 90. The motor 84 meanwhilehas also been energized to drivewheel 86 in a counterclockwisedirection, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the frictional rim or tire 89 ofwheel 88 transmits the rotary motion thereof'to the ball '46 and setsthe latter spinning rapidly about a substantially vertical axis, as seenin Fig. 3, the idler wheel 80 serving merely to maintainflthe ball insuitable position relative to thedriving wheel 86 and magnetic tube 64until the ballhas been given adequate rotary velocity. iI-lavingsuitably retracted the plunger rod 5|, and being satisfied with thedegree of momentumimparted to the ball 46, the operator may thenreleasethe plunger handle 52 so that compressed spring 54 will drive theplunger head and tip 62 thereof forwardly to strike ba1l'46 sharply andisend it upwardly through the raceway between rails22, the lever arm10meanwhile hav ing been returned, to its normal (dotted line) positionas shown in Fig. 4 to open the circuits of switch 11 and deenergize" themotor 84 and solenoid winding 66, thus freeing the ball 46 of theattraction of magnetic tube 64. i. Itwillfbe observed that at theinstant of impact of tip62with the ball 46 when itis positioned againstthe wheels 86 and 90, tw'o degrees of motion are supplied to the ball,namely, a velocity in a lineardirection, and a gyratory or spinningmotion about a, substantially vertical axis. The linear velocity of theball carriesit up wardly in the raceway to impinge against the bafli eor rail I8 and thus deflect it out upon the boagrdlnthe generaldirection of the U-shaped rails 20 or the several hazards I8 on] theboard I2. This latter, motion resembles substantially the motion of theordinary projected ball, it being emphasized, however, that the ball ismeanwhile continuing to rotate about its own axis. f The ballwilldescend over the board I2 toward the lowermost (right-hand extremitythereof) to encounter one or another of the hazards I6, I8 or 40., 1 I

,should the ball find its way'to the lowermost end of; the playing fieldand encounter either of the rails 34 or .35, it will apparently becomesuddenly energized and be shot out with increased velocity toward theupper end of the board where it may again encounter any of the scoringopenings I6 or barriers I8 as before described. This latter behavior ofthe ball is one of the important lib features of the invention, and isthe resultof the ,gyratory or spinning motion of the ballet the instantit encounters the barriers 34 and35;

This sudden apparent re-energ'ization' of the ball follows only uponimpact thereof with rails such as 34 and 35; the latter being especiallyprovided with a suitable frictional covering such as rubber (see Fig.6), so that the ball will tend to move away therefrom with a degree ofrapidity and violence depending in part upon the momenf tumor speed ofrotation of the ball. j

It will be apparent that other barriers IE or the rail 30, for example,might similarly be provided with friction surfaces to produce variousand sudden changes in the direction and speed of movement of the ball inthe manner just described, and I do not limit myself to the particulararrangement of the rails 34 and 35 herein shown for illustrative p pses. 7 I

Should the ball not encounter rails such as 34 and 35 for reprojectionupon the board, it will pass through the exit openings 36 and 38 to bedirected into the receiving members of the elevating mechanism 42 forsubsequent use, and such other balls as find their way into the scoringpockets l6 may indicate the score in any usual manner and operate, forinstance, a score counting mechanism generally indicated at 3|,

It will be apparent that my novel projecting mechanism, together withthe disposition and construction of the special rails such as 34 and 35,which for convenience I may-term reprojectingrails or members, will besusceptible of various modifications and rearrangements, and I thereforedo not desire to be restricted to the precise structure or function ofthe embodiment herein set forth in detail for purposes of descriptionand illustration, but rather I wish to avail myself of allmodifications, variations and combinations of the disclosure comingwithin the scope of the appended claims, which I desire to protect byLetters Patent of the United States.

I claim:

1. Ball projecting means for use with game devices of the type havingball playing surfaces and means for projecting balls thereon, saidprojecting means comprising a manually controlled spring driven plungerhaving a sleeve-like ma netic device adjacent the projecting extremitythereof and adapted to attract a paramagnetic ball thereto, said plungerhaving a. driving head retractable within said magnetic member againstspring mean and releasable for driving by said spring means to impactsaid ball and project it onto said surface, and a motor driven rotatablemember positioned adjacent said magnetic member and adapted to rotatesaid ball attracted by said magnetic member when the said driving headis retracted within said last mentioned member.

2. Ball projecting means for use with game apparatus and the like andcomprising a reciprocable spring driven plunger adapted to be manuallyretracted and released to strike and project a ball projectile, meansincluding a member having a substantially flat contact surface forsupporting a, ball in position before said plunger, spaced rotatablemeans adjacent the striking end of said plunger for holding a ball inspaced relation relative to said end, electrical means for spinning oneof said rotatable members, and electromagnetic means near said end ofthe plunger and adapted when energized to attract a paramagnetic balland hold the same against said rotatable means so that said ball will bespun, together means for "spinr'1ing said ball, together with switchingmechanism operable-by said projector when'mesames manually actuated forenergizing and deenergizingthe electrically driven and electricallyoperable means automatically by marmar'aewauon of the projector wherebysaid ball may be set to spinning rapidly before or substantially at thetimesaid projector strikes the ball for projection onto the playingfield as aforesaid.

"f4. Ball projecting means for use with game apparatus'and the'likeincluding a ball playing field, said projecting means including amanually actuatedprojectoroperable to strike and project a'ball formovement onto said playing 'field, electrically driven means adjacentsaid projector for spinning aball positioned to be struck by saidprojector, "electrically operable means for urging an'cl'holding saidball into oper ative' engagementfwithsaid first-mentioned electricallydriven means for spinning said ball, together with switching mechanismoperable by said projector when the same is manually actuated forenergizing and deenergizing the electrically driven and electricallyoperable means automatically by manual actuation of the projectorwhereby said ball may be set to spinning rapidly before or substantiallyat the time said projector strikes the ball for projection onto theplaying field as aforesaid, said second-mentioned electrically operablemeans for urging the ball into operative engagement with the spinningmeans releasing its influence on said ball before or substantially atthe moment when said projector strikes the ball.

5. In a device of the class described, a ball projector including aprojecting plunger, means for positioning a ball in position to bestruck by said plunger, power-driven means arranged for engagement by aball positioned as aforesaid for imparting a spinning motion to saidball, and control mechanism coacting with said plunger for energizingand deenergizing said power-driven means.

6. In a device of the class described, ball projecting means includinga. projecting plunger, means for positioning a ball at the striking headof said plunger, motor driven ball spinning means arranged near saidhead of the plunger for engagement by a ball positioned as aforesaid andadapted to spin said ball, switch means arranged to control said motordriven means by manipulation of said plunger whereby to give said ball aspinning motion substantially at or prior to the time the ball is struckby the plunger.

7. In a device of the class described, ball projecting mechanismincluding a projecting plunger, means for positioning a magneticallyattractable ball to be struck by said plunger when the same is operated,electrically actuated ball spinning means arranged adjacent said plungerfor engagement by a ball positioned as aforesaid, electromagnetic meansarranged adjacent said plunger for attracting said ball into drivingengagement with said spinning means, and switch means arranged to beoperated by said plunger to energize said spinning means and ballattracting means when the plunger is operated to project the ball,whereby said ball may begiven a rapid spinning movement substantiallyprior to or at the time it is projected.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination with meansactuatable to strike a. ball a blow for projecting the same, and meansfor positioning the ball to be struck by the first mentioned means, ofpower-driven means arranged for engagement by the ball positioned asiforesaidfor imparting an initial spinning motion to said ball. Yr '9.In a device of the type described, the combination with means forreceiving a ball and imparting to it a spinning motion about an axis ofthe ball, of means operable at will to release the ball from thefirst-mentioned means, when the ball has achieved a desired degree ofmormentum. for movement across the surface of a retaining a ball infrictional engagementwith said disk, said retaining meansreceiving theball sufficiently loosely to permit substantially free rotation of theball about an axis thereof due to the balls frictional engagement withthe disk. 5

12. The combination with a rotatable member; of power actuated means forrotating said member, means for retaining a ball in position to beengaged by said member and spun about an axis of the ball upon rotationof said mem- 1 her, and control means for starting and stopping rotationof said member.

13. In a device of the type described for causing a paramagnetic ball tomove across a game board surface, the combination of means in- 15 boardsurface, the combination of means in- 25 eluding an electric drivingmotor for imparting an initial spin to the ball about an axis of thelatter,.means including an electromagnet for releasably retaining theball inoperative relation with said first-mentioned means prior to therelease of the ball for movement across the game board surface, andswitching means operable at will to deenergize said motor andelectromagnet substantially simultaneously to release the ball. 35

IRVEN H. WILSEY.

